From Hodling to Earning: Lorenzo's Bitcoin Revolution

PLUS: Bitcoin hits new ATH at $123K driven by Fed rate cut expectations, ECR Minerals adds BTC to treasury, Jack Dorsey's Block develops mining chips, and Marathon Digital reaches 50,639 BTC holdings.

Author

Michael Stinson
August 15, 2025

Happy Friday, Maestros!

Welcome to another edition of the Bitcoin Renaissance!

This week, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $123,000 fueled by Fed rate cut expectations and $54 billion in ETF inflows. Corporate adoption accelerated as ECR Minerals added Bitcoin to treasury reserves, while Jack Dorsey's Block partnered with Core Scientific on mining chips to challenge Chinese manufacturers. Marathon Digital produced 703 Bitcoin in July, bringing total holdings to 50,639 BTC.

Maestro's Documentation Just Got a Major Upgrade! Check it out here!

🚀 Featured Stories

Bitcoin surged past $123,000 on August 13, 2025, driven by expectations of a Fed rate cut and strong institutional demand, marking a new all-time high with ETF inflows exceeding $54 billion.

ECR Minerals, a British mining company, officially added Bitcoin to its corporate treasury reserves, altering financial balances in the UK mining sector and signaling growing corporate adoption beyond tech companies.

Jack Dorsey's Block is developing Bitcoin mining chips with Core Scientific as the first major partner, potentially creating a new era for U.S. semiconductor dominance in crypto mining as Chinese manufacturers face increased competition.

Marathon Digital (MARA) announced it produced 703 Bitcoin in July 2025, winning 207 blocks, bringing their total BTC holdings to 50,639 Bitcoin as major miners continue expanding their operations despite monthly production fluctuations.

💡Spotlight: Lorenzo Protocol

Lorenzo Protocol is building institutional-grade on-chain asset management infrastructure that bridges CeFi financial products with DeFi ecosystems. Its Financial Abstraction Layer (FAL) packages sophisticated yield strategies into On-Chain Traded Funds (OTFs) , similar to traditional ETFs, but fully on-chain. Lorenzo enables Bitcoin holders to stake BTC and receive liquid staking tokens (stBTC) while offering diversified yield products that combine Real-World Assets (RWAs), quantitative trading strategies, and DeFi opportunities.

🛠️ Key Features

  • Bitcoin Liquid Staking: Stake Bitcoin and receive tradable stBTC tokens, preserving liquidity while the underlying BTC generates yield through multiple strategies.

  • Institutional-Grade Infrastructure: Professionally managed quantitative strategies, secure custody, and operational controls designed for institutional investors, now accessible to all users.

  • Cross-Chain Integrations: stBTC is integrated across 30+ protocols and 20+ chains, demonstrating strong DeFi composability.

  • On-Chain Traded Funds (OTFs): Flagship USD1+ OTF blends tokenized RWAs, CeFi quantitative strategies, and DeFi yields, targeting up to 40% APR via a triple-yield engine according to the team.

Recent News

Lorenzo recently launched its USD1+ OTF on BNB Chain mainnet, marking the first FAL-based product to move from testnet to full production. The fund uses a delta-neutral basis trading strategy that historically delivered 25.78% APY, minimal drawdown (-0.48% max), and an 8.09 Sharpe ratio over 2021–2025. Lorenzo also partnered with Cetus Protocol to bring Bitcoin staking to the Sui Network, enabling BTC holders to stake and mint stBTC directly on Sui, expanding Bitcoin’s utility in the growing Sui DeFi ecosystem.

The Future

Lorenzo aims to become a premier on-chain investment bank, building additional tokenized funds across DeFi, quantitative strategies, regulated assets, and RWAs. The protocol plans to strengthen the USD1 ecosystem by settling all USD-based strategies exclusively in the USD1 stablecoin. With infrastructure serving both institutional and retail users, Lorenzo seeks to turn passive BTC holders into active participants in sophisticated, yield-generating strategies, all with the transparency and security of on-chain execution.

Check out more here!

📣 Trending on X

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. will not be purchasing additional Bitcoin. They’ll hold on to the $15–$20 billion worth they already possess and plan to seize more.

Bitcoin Asia is just two week away! You won’t want to miss this one.

Jack Dorsey says Block Inc. aims for “#Bitcoin to serve as peer-to-peer electronic cash and everyday money, just as it was originally intended.”

Block announces Proto Rig, a modular and repairable bitcoin miner, along with Proto Fleet, a free open-source fleet management software, as part of its effort to decentralize mining.